Coinbase chief sees crypto rules advancing despite Senate uncertainty

Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong says the U.S. crypto industry is likely to gain clearer rules soon, whether or not the Senate passes legislation designed to define federal oversight of digital assets.

Speaking to CNBC’s Squawk Box Asia, Armstrong said the Clarity Act had support from crypto companies, law-enforcement organizations and several banks. The bill is scheduled for a Senate vote on Sept. 15, after passing the House last July.

Armstrong has backed the legislation publicly on behalf of Coinbase. He said people he had spoken with were prepared to support it, while acknowledging that approval in the Senate was not guaranteed. If the bill fails, he argued, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are prepared to issue their own rules shortly after the vote.

The comments reflect the importance of the deadline for an industry that has long sought a more defined division of regulatory responsibility. The Clarity Act would set out which digital assets and activities fall under the SEC and which belong under the CFTC.

Senate negotiations remain unresolved

The legislation needs 60 Senate votes, and provisions concerning ethics have become one of the remaining obstacles. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona said last month that stronger ethics language, together with agreement on other unresolved issues, would be needed to reach that threshold.

Armstrong said negotiations over those provisions were continuing but suggested that lawmakers were close to settling them. He presented passage as an important step for the sector, while also describing it as a regulatory milestone that could remove one barrier to wider investment.

In his view, clearer rules could encourage more institutional money to enter the U.S. market and help enable financial products such as tokenized equities. Tokenization refers to representing assets such as shares in digital form, although the article does not specify when such products might become available.

The proposed law was introduced in May 2025. Its progress comes as regulators and lawmakers continue to shape the boundaries between the two federal agencies most closely associated with digital-asset supervision. Even without congressional action, Armstrong expects rulemaking from those agencies to deliver greater certainty.

Coinbase looks beyond spot trading

The regulatory debate comes as Coinbase works to reduce its reliance on cryptocurrency spot trading. Armstrong said that part of the business had weakened over the past year and accounted for roughly half of the company’s revenue.

The exchange has broadened its trading operations to include stocks, commodities and foreign exchange. It also earns money outside trading through activities including stablecoins and institutional custody, which involves holding digital assets for professional clients.

Coinbase’s recent financial results show the pressure on its core market. The company reported second-quarter revenue of $1.2 billion in July, down from $1.5 billion in the same period a year earlier. It recorded a net loss of $359.5 million, compared with a profit of $1.43 billion the previous year. The company fell short of Wall Street forecasts for revenue and earnings for a third consecutive quarter.

Its shares have declined nearly 23% so far this year. Armstrong linked part of the strain on Coinbase’s financial performance to the prolonged weakness in spot trading.

Overseas expansion fills regulatory gaps

Coinbase has also been building operations outside the United States. The company has established a presence in the United Arab Emirates and Singapore, which Armstrong identified as its hub for Asia.

He said these locations became particularly important when the U.S. regulatory environment was less welcoming. The company is also seeking growth in jurisdictions where governments are more open to digital-asset businesses.

That approach allows Coinbase to expand where conditions are favorable while waiting in markets it considers more hostile, Armstrong said. For the company, the outcome of the Clarity Act could therefore affect both its domestic prospects and the balance between U.S. operations and its international hubs.

CNBC’s reporting indicates that the Senate vote is only one route toward regulatory certainty. Passage would provide a legislative framework, while failure could leave the SEC and CFTC to act through rulemaking instead.